Toke Christensen, Shanghai
Freelance journalist
It would probably have been an emotional day for Poul Bonde – but he had very little time to feel emotional. When UNIvers met him at the Nordic Centre’s annual student event (“Meet The Students”) at Fudan University in Shanghai, he had his hands extremely full. He was busy handing out brochures containing information about Aarhus University (AU), while answering a steady flow of questions from the Chinese students at the same time.
“We’ve been really busy all day long. I’ve been talking non-stop since 12.30, and it’s 3.30 now. I thought I’d brought far too much material with me, but I’m running out,” says Poul Bonde without a trace of tiredness in his voice.
Every step of the way
67-year-old Senior Adviser Poul Bonde is proud to have been one of the co-founders of the Nordic Centre. He is the only person present at the Shanghai event who helped to start the Nordic Centre on 25 August 1995. Back then the Nordic Centre was just an organisation providing a platform in China for individual researchers and PhD scholars, as well as running classical university-style courses. Today, 15 years later, it has developed into an important Danish-Chinese forum for both research collaboration and student exchange agreements. It is now a recognised research centre that regularly receives visits from ministers and commissions. The culmination came last week, when the Nordic Centre was able to present its own independent building at Fudan University.
“We thought the Nordic Centre had good potential when we started, but I’m amazed by how much success we’ve achieved. When you read the annual report and see how many activities go on here it actually takes your breath away!” says Poul Bonde.
What kind of things do the Chinese students want to know about AU?
“They already know a lot about us, and they are well aware that AU is on the list of the top 100 universities in the world. Studying abroad is very expensive for Chinese students, so this stamp of quality means a lot to them.”
What do you look for in the Chinese students?
“First of all I try to find out if they’ve thought carefully about what they want to do. For instance, have they thought about the fact that continuing their studies abroad in a different culture constitutes a major challenge? I try to get them to visualise their subject in a different context, and tell them that things can be done in many different ways, and that your attitude to your degree programme becomes very dynamic when you study abroad,” says Poul Bonde – before breaking off the interview because someone else wants to talk to him.
A good place to round off
Poul Bonde is pleased to end his career at Fudan University in China of all places.
“I’ve discussed the best way of ending my career with my secretariat back home. I’ve been involved in three major projects. Two EU projects in Granada and Bilbao, and then the Fudan project. I feel that I’m saying goodbye in style to something I helped to create – and I’m happy to say that the Nordic Centre is definitely alive and kicking,” concludes Poul Bonde.
